Many of the known antimicrobial agents are irritating to users' skin. Nonwoven products, such as tissue products, treated with antimicrobial agents may be irritating to the users' skin because the antimicrobial agents come in contact with the skin when the products are used.
Some products where the antimicrobial agents are applied to an inner ply still cause irritation to the users' skin because the compositions containing the antimicrobial agents degrade the tactile properties of the products, leaving the products harsh.
Irritation caused by the inclusion of antimicrobial agents in consumer tissue products is a persistent problem. There have been attempts to ameliorate this problem by mixing the antimicrobial agents with lotions or emollients. Products comprising the mixture of antimicrobial agents and lotions or emollients may also have a high potential for irritation because the antimicrobial agents are on the surface of the product and are intentionally transferred with the lotions or emollients to the user, resulting in prolonged contact with the antimicrobial agents, the source of irritation.